DE S IGN CENTRE
CONSCIOUS CREATIVITY
Interior designers aren’t waiting around for their clients to become enlightened about sustainability. Instead, they are taking a more personal responsibility for what they specify – and making use of a raft of new products that are good for people and planet alike. Emily Brooks gets the lowdown
Luxury and sustainability are not mutually exclusive – in many ways, they are synonymous, especially when it comes to valuing quality and longevity over poorly made, throwaway products. However, the luxury industry is under pressure to do better: a 2020 UN report found that the top 1% income group is responsible for 15% of global emissions. Instead of waiting for their clients to drive change,
interior designers are doing it themselves. They have become critical middlemen, using their purchasing power to encourage brands to make more sustainable products, and then putting those sustainable products under the gaze of their clients, to the exclusion of others. As interior designer Simone Suss of Studio Suss says, “for every buying decision we make, there is a sustainable choice, more or less. You don’t necessarily need to be compromising on aesthetic or function, or anything else.” The last year has seen a raft of sustainable
collections arrive at the Design Centre’s showrooms, particularly when it comes to fabric. These include five new designs from Rubelli, made from a polyamide
derived from castor beans – not just a natural material but a crop that uses less water than many; Pierre Frey’s Natecru collection, which includes textile waste from repurposed cashmere; and Hodsoll McKenzie’s Utopia collection (available at Zimmer + Rohde), which includes organic, European-grown fabrics such as linen and hemp. “Sometimes, the old ways of doing things are the best ways, and we are going back to them,” explained Fredericke Winkler, Hodsoll McKenzie’s design director as she introduced Utopia at Focus/21. “Hemp is the oldest textile ever used and it is even more sustainable than linen, requiring no pesticides or irrigation. We are trying to make this industry grow again.” Many other Design Centre brands have already
blazed a trail. These include de Le Cuona and Kvadrat for fabrics; Jacaranda Carpets & Rugs for its use of Tencel, made from wood pulp using a system where more than 99% of the processing chemicals are repeatedly reused in a closed loop; Auping’s ‘Evolve’ mattress from Rested, which is completely ‘circular’ in its design and can be endlessly recycled; and Edward
OPPOSITE: Hodsoll McKenzie’s Utopia collection, available from Zimmer + Rohde, is its first to have a strong focus on sustainability. It includes ‘Terra Nova’, made from 100% hemp – the oldest fabric known to mankind and a highly undemanding plant when it comes to water and pesticide use; textured linens such as ‘Antila’; and ‘Bouvet’, a sheer made from 50% recycled PET
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